Meet Me At The Clock Again
by TheHeartofWriting
Summary: Ezria One-Shot! Aria and Ezra's first encounter after their break up is where their secret first unfolds itself, the classroom. The same place where Aria reveals her fears for why she wants to end it with him. But deep inside they both don't want to. They try to move on, but in the end their hearts just lead them back to a familiar destination. PLEASE REVIEW!


**A/N: Hi everyone! This is an Ezria One-Shot. After watching the season three final and then going into the season four opener I'm just having a really hard time with the Ezria breakup. I think that when Aria and Ezra saw each other for the first time since their breakup in the classroom, they should have talked. And even though they decide to go their seperate ways...well their Ezria and little things such as songs and memories bring them back together. Their love conquers all. PLEASE REVIEW!**

Meet Me At The Clock…Again

Ezra kept his eyes trained on the blackboard as he wrote his name, but as he underlined it, scraping the chalk against the hard wall he could smell her perfume. He could hear the heels of her boots hit the tile floor and as he turned around their eyes met instantly. Dark blue to hazel and hazel to dark blue. Clearing his throat, he quieted the class and blindly reached for his copy of Farewell to Arms. He cleared his throat again, trying to calm his thoughts. He anticipated seeing her again sitting here in this very room, a row over from the window like always, but nothing could have prepared him for the actual event. He tried his best to make this hour go by as smoothly as possible, but when the words on the page reflected the very being of how he felt, and what he wanted with Aria, it just made it all the more difficult.

"Maybe…you'll fall in love with me all over again." Ezra somehow managed to read the words, every now and then glancing in Aria's direction.

"Hell," I said, "I love you enough now. What do you want to do? Ruin me?" He continued, and when Ezra's eyes were trained on the book Aria would glance up at him.

"Yes. I want to ruin you." The words made him want to just snap the book closed and profess his love for her and say that he doesn't want to break up, because he doesn't. He only wants what's best for her.

"Good," I said. She could hear the change in his voice, she knew he was taking this to heart and it made her want to cry. She wanted him to stop the class and just take her in his arms and like the night they were first together, she wanted him to ruin her, maybe not in a literal sense, but when she was with him nothing was ever clear and she loved it.

"That's what I want too." At that moment they both looked at each other, their eyes meeting once again.

The bell rang as Aria watched her classmates she had grown up with through the years gather their belongings and quickly shuffle out of the classroom. Some laughed and clumped into groups while other scurried before they were attacked by the mob of people pushing their way out. Still Aria sat stiff, quite, and unmoving. Her head down as she twiddled her thumbs on her desk. Her notebook open to a fresh page and her copy of To Kill A Mockingbird book stacked neatly under her assigned copy of Farewell to Arms. Her friends Hanna, Spencer, and Emily all giving each other a glance, knowing that she needed a few moments to be alone. The reason being, Ezra was back. To rephrase it, he was never truly gone from her life. She just never expected to see him standing at the front of the classroom with that painful look on his face. She knew that face all to well, because looking in the bathroom mirror she saw it herself.

As Emily closed the door on her way out, the pair still remains silent. Ezra now stood beside his desk, running his left hand through his hair, making his bangs curl like Aria loved. Their ears picked up the muffled chatter of students in the hallway as they scampered out of the school. Aria sighed, the first sound made between them. Finally she speaks up, hoping to lighten the tense atmosphere.

"So I guess I'm just that pretty girl sitting a row from the window now?" She remarks. Glancing up at him before looking back at her hands, her thumbs still circling each other.

"You don't have to be." Ezra states. She can hear his feet slowly moving towards her and then she can see the outline of his body as he sits in the desk in front of her. "We can make this work." He says, placing his hands on top of her's, her thumbs no longer moving. Her eyes are still fixated on their now joined hands. She can smell his cologne, and can hear the pleading in his voice, but she knows this can't work. "In three months you'll be-" He starts, but stops short when she pulls her hands out from under his and slides them into her lap with a sigh. She can't wait; she wants too but knows it won't work.

"No we can't" Aria replies, shaking her head in determination.

"Why can't it if we want it to?" He asks her, and this time she looks up into his eyes. She bites her tongue before swallowing the lump forming in her throat; she sees the pain reflected in his eyes. Trying to stay strong she looks down and fumbles as she closes her notebook and moves her books from her desk into her open backpack seated beside her on the floor. Her eyes are still cast downward as she speaks.

"Because it's easier to walk away than it is to fight for what you really want." She explains to him, even though she knows it will only go in one ear and out the other. They had been through so much, she thought they would be able to make it through anything, but this…this is just too much.

"Aria," He calls to her and stops her movements, but still she doesn't look up at him. "We use to fight for this everyday." His voice rising slightly, wanting her to truly hear him out.

At that moment they both pause in the silence, taking in his words. Remembering everything they have survived: Their first meeting in the bar, again here in this very room, the awkward conversations when her parents interacted with them before their secret was out, the hours Aria spent lying about being with friends when they really were just holed up his apartment, the threats of jealous students, the long drives to Philly where they finally got a small taste of what it was like to be a normal couple. Jackie, Jason, fights about the future, and plans to move away from this small town. Finally telling her parents, sneaking around to French vegan restaurants and meeting in the dark on sidewalks in the rain. Realizing that it didn't matter what her parents thought because he wasn't going away and Aria realizing that he was someone he was worth taking a risk for.

They loved each other, but then the skeletons in the closet had to rear their ugly head: His mom and brother, the underling of why he changed his name from Fitzgerald to Fitz. The biggest secret of all…Maggie. Not just Maggie, but Malcolm and this whole idea that he now has a son. This wasn't just about them, the old souls who don't care about age and theory, but about a young boy who is now almost half the age as Aria. They both wanted to go back and just be that couple they once were, but they couldn't…they can't.

"What changed?" He asked, finally breaking the silence. He pondered this question, but deep inside he knew the answer, just didn't want to hear it.

"Everything." Aria huffed. She paused, firmly stating the cold hard truth. "You have a family now." Aria sucks in a deep breath, trying not to cry as she remembers the night in the ER when she had been responsible for watching Malcolm and he had fallen on her watch. Can still picture the scene as the nurse shuts the hospital curtain in front of her eyes when she truthfully says she's not apart of the immediate family. The blue drape slowly drawing the room closed as Maggie and Ezra sat with their son on the hospital gurney. As if this symbolized the very view of this part of his life being closed off and isolated to apart she would never truly understand.

Ezra swallowed deeply, he loves Malcolm. He does, and he knows that this changes everything, but why can't it include Aria? He loves her just as much and knows that she was, no still is now the one. He still wants to spend the rest of his life with her, he wants to come home to apartment 3B and see her in a stunning dress with Chinese take-out and snuggle with her on the leather couch as they watch old movies or just relax in each other's embrace with no words being spoken, but a single candle flickering in the dark room.

"I can't…" Ezra stops, furrowing his eyesbrows as he bounces words through his head trying to figure out exactly how to put this. "Deny, that having Malcolm is going to effect the way I set my priorities, but you have and always will have my heart." He watches her closely, seeing her reaction to his words. He takes the chance and reaches towards her, brushing his hand through her silky hair and grazing down her shoulder in a comforting manner. Aria could feel herself melting from just the innocent touch, but then it all came flooding towards her. She knew she had to stay strong; she couldn't let her emotions get to her. With his hand resting on her arm she shook her head and pulled away, standing up from her seat.

"Stop okay…please." Her voice nearly cracking. "It's hard enough to sit in this classroom and pretend that I'm not in love with you. We don't need the school board-" She started to ramble as she picks up her backpack and slung it over her right shoulder.

"You're in love with me…" Ezra stopped her mid sentence. Standing up just like her, she couldn't believe she had just thrown herself under the bus saying that she truly loved him still. "So why pretend not to?" He asks. Aria opened her mouth, searching for some response that would answer his question. Trying to figure out the right words that would satisfy her own hearts desires.

"I…" She began, her voice starting to tremble. " Will always love you." She says, her eyes burning with tears. "But we are not those people who use to hole up in your apartment watching cartoons and-and eating take-out." She pauses. A tear falls. "This just…doesn't feel right anymore." She shakes her head, wiping away her tear in the process. She sucks in another deep breath.

"It has always felt right." Ezra whispers. He inches towards her barely touching her when she takes a step back. "Why do you keep pushing me away?" He asks, pain evident in his voice.

"Because Ezra…" she sniffles. She manages to look up at him, this time a serious and determined look on her face. She manages to push her pain and feelings aside, wanting to be firm with this decision and not wanting to back down. "You…" she pauses. "Are my teacher, and I am your student." It's tearing her up inside to use this card on him, to make him see her as just another student, but she knows it's the only way to make him stop. She turns away, looking out the window. Biting her lower lip she shifts her weight from one foot to the other. Dreading the words she is about to say, she doesn't want to. She knows in her heart that this is pushing the envelope too far, but maybe this could get her out of the classroom…away from him. "We never should have-." Her voice is uneven, and she turns around to leave when Ezra's voice stops her.

"Don't say it." He shakes his head. Tears are now clouding his vision. "Age is never an issue when were together and don't you dare say that we never should have met." His voice is shaking just as much as hers. Her shoulders slump and her eyes focus on her blurry boots. "We, always move forward together." Pain, sadness, and force entangle his words as he practically spits them at her. Against her better judgment Aria turns around to look at him, feeling regret forever saying she wanted to erase their past because in all honesty that's the last thing she ever wanted.

"I'm sorry," she whispers. Somehow gathering the courage she continues. "But how is moving forward together going to help us this time?" She waits for his reply. When he doesn't speak up she states her deepest darkest fears. "I'm not ready to be a stepmom in high school. I-I don't have the safest environment." She shakes her head with confusion and worry. Her words make everything snap into focus for him. He puts the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle and then it clicks.

"It's A, isn't it?" His voice raises with concern. He watches her body language change and despite her denial, he knows she's lying.

"No." She quickly shuts him down.

"You're lying." He retorts just as quickly. She shakes her head no, not able to look him in the eyes, and he knows something terrible is going on. "I know you remember? What is it…?" He asks, taking a step towards her she doesn't even flinch when he reaches her.

"I-I can't have them hurting your family again." She barely whispers. Her heart is breaking all over again at remembering the panicked feeling when A took Malcolm and she had no idea where he was or if he was even okay.

"Again?" Ezra asks confused. A growing pit of fear was developing in his stomach and he watched her with trained eyes. He knew this was hard for her to say, but when the words finally registered he was the one to pull away from her.

"A, took Malcolm to the carnival." She gasped for breath when she left his touch leave her and knew that this was it. This was when he would shout and say that he never wanted to see her again. The moment she dreaded the most.

"You weren't watching him?" He questions, his throat going dry and the pit in his stomach as heavy as it has ever felt. He can't help but feel betrayed by her, the one person he thought he could always count on had let the most important person in his life be taken advantage of by this creep known as A. "Why didn't you tell me?" His voice, cold and tense. She couldn't believe what she was hearing him say. She knew that if she ever told him he would react like this, so she figured it would just be easier to bury the secret and break up with him so nothing like that would ever happen again. But here she is now, telling him.

"I broke up with you…" She states, her voice just as cold and broken. "Isn't that saying enough?" She hopes that he will say something, anything. Yell and her, say something that will make her feel even worse than she already does because it would only make this feel right. But he doesn't say anything the room is silent. Ezra's hands are fisted at his sides; he doesn't know what to say. He doesn't know what to do. The tension in the room is so thick you could cut it with a knife. The knife that felt like it was being stabbed in his back. He needed air, that's what he needed. He needed to comprehend this and think about what is going on. So he left. He pushed passed her, twisted the doorknob, leaving the door wide open as he sprinted down the hallway and out the exit doors of Rosewood High. Aria still just stood in the classroom, tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks. Her stomach was in pain, knots so tight she felt like she wanted to puke. In her mind, the decision was made. A had won. They had managed to destroy the one perfect thing in her life and she would never forget this. She had hope and believed they could get through anything, but hope was lost. Like Spencer says, hope breeds eternal misery. She was destined for a life of misery.

~EZRIA~

Aria smiled at the guy sitting across from her, his name is Jake and as she listens to him draw on about his life and why he became a martial arts instructor as she tries to push the consuming thoughts of Ezra away. The events in the classroom during and especially afterwards made her just want to get out and forget about her troubles with A and the ultimate fate that she was never going to be with Ezra again.

After all, she is the one who broke up with him and said that they needed to move on. In her heart she knew Ezra that walking out of the classroom was the symbolism that he was walking out of her life. She should be happy knowing that she was keeping him safe, keeping Malcolm safe. It wasn't fair to her, to Ezra, and especially to that little boy to keep this up. Most importantly after A's stunt she couldn't and wouldn't let it happen again. If anything had happened to Malcolm she never would have forgiven herself. Still, she couldn't help but feel like this was wrong, like she was cheating on Ezra.

"So Aria, I have to admit that when you first walked through the doors of my martial arts class I was a bit skeptical. How could someone so tiny pack such a punch? " His question pulled her from her thoughts, he gave a small chuckle. She did the same, hoping he hadn't caught her drifting away again

"Well my family and I traveled overseas for a year, I picked up a few things along the way." She said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"That's cool. Where did you go?" He asked, taking a sip of his ice tea.

"Um…we went to Europe. Iceland. My dad took his sabbatical and with everything that was going on here we thought it would be best to get away." She couldn't help but shift in her seat, remembering the night her mom came into her room and told her to pack her stuff for the trip. She thought it was mainly for her dad's vacation, later she would learn it was to get out of the small town that was growing with secrets about Ali and her friends.

"Interesting, I've always wanted to travel the world. Reading about places is as far as I've ever gotten though." He revealed. So he was a reader too.

"So you're a reader too?" She raised her eyes in surprise, not many guys like to sit and read.

"When I have free time, but with the martial arts classes, it makes it difficult." He shrugs. "So you will be graduating soon, any plans?" He asks. The question catches Aria completely off guard. For the past two years she had always believed she would be with Ezra, possibly moving to California with him or even just into his apartment and going to Hollis. Now, everything has changed.

"Um…I…I don't know." She furrows her eyebrows. Silence falls between them for a few minutes in which time she gathers her thoughts. "I guess I will probably go to Hollis and study literature, I've always wanted to be a teacher." Aria ponders, the idea.

"Teacher…that suites you." He grins at her.

"Someone" she begins, looking down into her coffee. "Very special to me told me that it was the best thing he ever did." She explains further. Looking up, she can see the questions in his eyes as to her reaction to a simple statement and she continued. "Or maybe creative writing and photography." She takes a sip of her coffee.

"You like to write?" He gestures. She nods yes and smiles. "Maybe you will let me read it sometime." He smiles back. Aria bites her lower lip, Ezra is the only one she has every revealed her writing to. He was able to understand her writing on a level that no one else could. It was something special, something she intended to keep that way despite their break up.

"It's mostly personal. I doubt you would be interested." She tried to shrug him off the subject. He nodded in politeness understanding, but was still curious as to why she seemed so distant.

"Aria, is everything okay? I mean we have been siting here talking for a good hour, but you seem to be somewhere else." He treads careful, almost afraid of her answer.

"Yeah…I'm fine." She replies quickly, nodding her head with a weak smile. Their table is once again quite, although the Grille is crowded with people. Music drifts through the radio speakers above them, the music barely noticeable, but for Aria her ears are suddenly trained to the song.

_Happiness is just outside my window_

She turns her head away from the table; staring off into the corner she remembers when this song became a pivotal memory in her life, the bar. Her smile widens and her eyes brighten as the song continues to play.

_Or is happiness a little more like a knocking_

_On your door, and you just let it in?_

She is reminded of when she went to his apartment for the first time after finding out he was her teacher, the first time he had comforted her. The moment she realized she didn't care whether they were student and teacher, she didn't care about any obstacles she would ever have to face to be with him, she just wanted to. She could practically smell his cologne mixed with aged scotch and old books as he held her in his strong arms. Remembers tugging on the back of his light blue shirt that was unbuttoned in the front revealing the white undershirt. Looking up into his eyes and seeing that boyish grin or loosing herself even further in his blue eyes.

_Happiness feels a lot like sorrow_

No, she couldn't think like that. The song was right, she was giving away her happiness to protect him and with that brings sorrow, but it would pass. Right?

_Happiness damn near destroys you_

_Breaks your faith to pieces on the floor_

The happiness she felt would only break her further if she was to stay with him, they would never be who they once were. It just didn't feel right anymore she makes herself believe; yet her heart is telling her that it has always felt right. She just had to let him go.

_Happiness is like the old man told me _

_Look for it, but you'll never find it all _

_Let it go, live your life and leave it _

_Then one day, wake up and she'll be home _

_Home, home, home_

Home…he was her home. He was, no he is her safe place.

"B26", she whispers, the single word slipping passed her lips without even realizing it.

"What?" Her eyes focus back to the table, seeing a confused look on Jake's face.

"Oh um…" she begins, clutching the napkin that is placed in her lap. "I have to go." She states. Standing to her feet she grabs her studded black purse that is seated next to her cellphone on the table.

"Wait!" Jake replies, still confused at her sudden decision to leave he hopes that he can convince her to let him drive her home. "Let me drive you home." He offers, pulling out a twenty for the bill. Aria is about to refuse; she didn't want to go home. No, she knew where she wanted to go.

"Actually, can you drop me off somewhere?" She asks, smiling.

~EZRIA~

Ezra stretches his legs out lengthwise on his bed. With one arm bent underneath his pillow he rests his head back looking at the photo of himself and Aria that usually rests on his bedside table. His mind is filled with too many thoughts to do anything else. He can't even bring himself to grade the papers he had his class write because he knows that somewhere in that stack is the curly handwriting he knew all too well. For starts he wanted to know what happened. It seemed like in just a short amount of time his world had done a complete three-sixty. He went from being an underpaid high school teacher, to a college professor, then to answering webzines online, filling out job applications, to starting back where it all began at Rosewood High.

His relationship with Aria, which he had seriously thought would last forever seem to crumble before his very eyes. She no longer had a key to his apartment and his late nights spent eating take-out with her are now spent with his son. Malcolm, he still couldn't believe he is his. He always wanted kids, preferably with Aria, but when he looks at Malcolm he wouldn't change anything. He does regret the fact that Maggie had to raise him by herself, but he also understands that they never would have worked as a serious couple. Sure they had been high school lovers, but that was in the past. Aria was his future now, or so he thought. Maggie was now moving into his future.

He can hear Malcolm who is seat on the floor in front of the couch next to Maggie as they play with his toy train. After hearing what A had done Ezra grasped Malcolm in a tight hug and promised to never let anything happen to him, but the little boy just smiled and said that the carnival had been fun. Ezra tried to talk to the little boy about who it was that picked him up, but when Maggie walked in and Malcolm started playing with his toys he figured he would just bring it up later.

Even though Aria had broken up with him, revealing A to Maggie was something he wouldn't do. There was no need for her to panic and seeing as it was something that concerned Aria and her well being than anything else he kept his mouth shut. It did scare him, the idea that someone was still after her, no matter what he would always want to protect her. He loved her, no was still in love with her. He may have walked out of that classroom, but he would always be there for her.

Deep down inside he knows that having Maggie and Malcolm here is what's going to eventually help him forget or at least dull the pain of Aria leaving him. Then again he feels worse about how he just left her standing in the classroom. He understands where she's coming from, but still doesn't want to believe it. They had come so far, had been through so much to give up hope. She had once told him that she was willing to take the risk of being with him and in return he had said the same, but if that meant putting Malcolm at risk was it really worth it?

He set the photo down on the bed next to his side where his worn copy of To Kill A Mockingbird lies, remembering the day he received it as a parting gift from his first teaching job. Aria's class. He had quit his job at Rosewood High in the hopes that his bigger and better job at Hollis College would not only relive the tension of a student-teacher relationship, but give them a chance at being a couple outside in the open.

He opens the cover, careful not to bend it too far back because of the wear and tare. He has read this book cover to cover over and over again, mostly out loud to Aria, as she would rest her head on his chest in the quite of the night. His eyes trail over the curly handwriting, even though he could read the words by heart his eyes still follow along.

_I hope we have made your first teaching job an experience you will never forget. I know you have changed the lives of students and will always hold a place in our hearts. For when you need to leave Rosewood. ~ Your Class. P.S. B26, Always_

To the world, the message was just a thank you for everything that he had done for them over the course of the school year. But between Aria and Ezra, the words meant something much deeper. At the time, Ezra had changed Aria's life drastically. She was seen as more than just a child, who could make her own decisions and knew exactly what she wanted out of life. Ezra had changed too, he now believed in taking risks and being bold enough to stand up for what he wanted. They would always hold a place in each other's hearts and like he had written in her copy of Winesburg Ohio, she too wrote the familiar words that when he needed an escape he could always loose himself to the small town in To Kill A Mockingbird.

Sighing, he finally gets up off the bed and walks by the typewriter sitting on his desk and over to the bookshelf where he sets the book. He spots the paper bags with the smile faces laying on his shelf, and recalls when Aria made him put it on and take a picture with her because they couldn't take one together considering their situation. At first he went along with it because he knew they couldn't take a real picture together and wanted to make her happy. But now that they could finally take a picture out in public it wouldn't happen because they were no longer together and it hurts him to think about it. They had come through so much to have those little moments and they never would. At least he had the memories of what they did share, the laughter as they stuck the bags over their heads and the kiss they shared afterwards. Seeing the smile on her face at finally having a picture together.

"Can we get some ice cream?" Malcolm's tiny voice asks. Ezra's is torn from his thoughts as he looks over the couch to where the young boy sat with his mom. He knew Maggie would protest, but it would get himself out of the apartment and figured the sugar wouldn't do any harm. It was his chance to connect with Malcolm, and with not being apart of the first years of his life he would do anything to make up for it.

"That sounds like a great idea." Ezra smiles. Maggie turns around to look at him, her mouth open about to rebuttal his decision, but seeing the look in his eyes, she smiles and nods her head.

"Okay…but just this once." She declares as the young boy leaps to his feet and races to the front door to put on his shoes.

The three of them walk out of Ezra's apartment and down to the parking lot. Malcolm is practically sprinting to Ezra's silver car with Maggie walking briskly behind him leaving Ezra to trail behind them both. He can feel the air around him change as he throws his keys up in the air only to catch them in his hand. The news called for stormy weather, but Rosewood was known for a shower or two throughout the day with nothing too big.

~EZRIA~

Ezra never would have guessed the rain would be falling like this. Hard and fast, he tried to keep his eyes trained on the road ahead of him, but it really was no use. Then again, Rosewood was such a small town that he could practically find the ice cream parlor blindfolded. Passing street lamps and corner shops he remembered a night much like this one. He could still hear Aria's voice over the voicemail. Remembers the tight feeling he got in his stomach as he hit the delete button on his cell phone, thinking that this was it. It was truly over. But it wasn't, they had managed to defy the odds then. Why not now?

"I don't like the look of this rain. Are you sure you can drive in this?" He heard Maggie's concerned voice.

"I'm fine." Ezra nodded, glancing in the rearview mirror for a second at Malcolm who was playing with his toy car and looking out the window every few seconds.

"Would you mind if I turned on the radio? Driving in rain always nerves me." She explains and Ezra once again just nods. She turns on the radio, a familiar song playing. The very song that was playing the night he went to Aria. He hadn't planned on it. He hadn't planned on anything, but once he got into his car he drove to the clock he knew his heart had been leading him straight to her.

_A tattered photograph my pocket holds,_

_I keep you secretly._

He had her picture tucked away in the back pocket of his jeans. Even now.

_I've studied every line. _

_You're etched upon my mind,_

_for not a million soldiers could take you from me._

As the song continues to play he can see every detail of Aria's beautiful face. Her pearl smile, silky long chocolate curls, hazel orbs, and unique personality that makes him smile.

_My love, the reason I survive,_

_trust we'll be together soon._

_Should our fire turn to dark,_

_take my heart with you._

He had made up his mind that night that he was going to stand by her and no matter what her parents said or tried to do he was not going to leave her. And he wasn't there for her now. It hurt him to think that. He wanted; no he needed to be with her. Despite A, and having this family, he needed her. She was the reason he survived, he had once trusted that they would be together and now that they aren't he wanted to just leave his heart with hers.

Peeling his eyes from the road for a split second, he noticed that the minutes on the dashboard were flashing neon green, 7:55pm. It was almost 8:00pm.

_"Meet me tonight at eight. In front of the clock, by Rittenhouse Square. If you come then, that means there's still hope for us." _He could hear Aria's voice as clear as day. His heart started to beat faster, and he couldn't understand why.

"Ezra…you missed the turn." Maggie stated, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Huh…?" He turned to her confused. "Oh…" He shook his head. Looking back out at the pouring rain, he realized where he was. Everything looked just the same. The rain coming down, the cars parked along the sidewalk, the bench underneath the bus station over by Rittenhouse Square. A tiny figure sitting in the shadows on the bench next to the clock, waiting. Ezra looked back at the clock, it was 8:00pm.

Aria glances at the clock standing tall close by her. Its 8:00pm. She can't exactly explain why she asked Jake to drop her off here. Something in her heart just told her to come. The weather was an absolute downpour, reminding her of the night when he had come for her. A night her very much like this one. She sees a silver car much like his in the middle of traffic and her heart starts to beat quickly.

Ezra ahs to blink a few times as he approaches the clock standing beside the shadowed figure on the bench. It can't be her. But it is, it's Aria. His smile grows wide, his seat belt unbuckled before he has even applied full force to the breaks.

"Ezra what are you doing? You can't just stop in the middle of traffic." He can hear Maggie say, but he doesn't respond. He can hear the cars honking at him, but he doesn't care. Opening his car door he is immediately met with pelting raindrops as they drench his dark blue sweater.

"Aria?" He shouts through the raging storm.

Aria can't believe her eyes. He came. It hadn't been planned, but their hearts had led them to each other. She smiled, standing on shaky legs underneath the small canopy, taking slow steps; she crosses the line into the rain. Their eyes never leaving each other's as they walk towards each other. Their earlier fight forgotten, he takes her into his arms and she wraps her arms around his waist. Staring lovingly into each other's eyes they both lean in. The kiss they share is much deeper than any words could ever be said. She moves her hands up to fist his hair as his one hand left her petite waist to the back her neck to deepen the kiss even further. No matter how hard they tried to stay away from each other they couldn't. In the end they had trusted their hearts, knowing they would be together soon. And now, they would be together forever.

**Thank you so much for reading and I would really appreciate REVIEWS. I could really use the feedback! If you enjoyed this short One-Shot, you can find more Ezria stories: The Whole Truth, Being In Love Means Keeping Secrets, and Back In Rosewood in my stories. **


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